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I was hoping to make an altbier this weekend, but my LHBS doesn't have any 1007 German Ale. Does anyone have any suggestions for substitutions that aren't US-05 (I use this way too much, trying to mix it up) or the WL 1007 equivalent (doubt they have it).
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Sep 13, 2012 15:09
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Since it's a hybrid style you could use just about any lager yeast. California lager would probably work really well in the ~60 degree range.
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Sep 13, 2012 15:12
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If you can find White Labs yeast go with WLP029 - I can't recommend this strain enough, even for non-german styles. I've used it to make absolutely delicious pale ales in addition to alts. Try to keep it at 64*
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Sep 13, 2012 15:18
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Super Rad posted:If you can find White Labs yeast go with WLP029 - I can't recommend this strain enough, even for non-german styles. I've used it to make absolutely delicious pale ales in addition to alts. I agree, 029 is great! It also makes great bread after primary's done.
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Sep 13, 2012 17:47
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If I were to dabble in brew in a bag, what batch size could I expect to get out of a 5 gallon kettle? Could I expect to get about 2 or 2.5 gallons of beer out of it?
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Sep 13, 2012 18:14
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global tetrahedron posted:If I were to dabble in brew in a bag, what batch size could I expect to get out of a 5 gallon kettle? Could I expect to get about 2 or 2.5 gallons of beer out of it? A lot of people go with three, but you could do 2 or 2.5 pretty easily. You could easily fit three in a five gallon pot, the problem is whether your stove can put four gallons of liquid to a boil.
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Sep 13, 2012 18:28
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I've done pretty rollicking boils with the pot almost to the brim with my extract batches in the past, so I don't think stove power will be an issue.
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Sep 13, 2012 18:43
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Josh Wow posted:Anyone have experience with a beer gun? I hate bottling from the keg and my carbonation is never right. I've bottled with one of those ghetto rigged ones and it goes pretty dang great. Usually though I'm bottling at the end of my keg so it's been fully carbed and that way for at least a week or more. I also drop the psi down to far below 10, gas off, as well as chill the bottles. It's more about the dance between pressing too hard on the bottle filler, the 'right' amount of pressure to let go from the stopper and knowing when it's time to give up. I do agree though, it sucks. But having bottles to cellar is fanfuckingtastic.
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Sep 13, 2012 19:22
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If I were to prime a small batch 2-3gallons with maple syrup would I actually get any flavor from that or is it too small an amount to matter?
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Sep 14, 2012 17:33
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ChiTownEddie posted:If I were to prime a small batch 2-3gallons with maple syrup would I actually get any flavor from that or is it too small an amount to matter? Nearly nothing at all to nothing at all - I'd say.
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Sep 14, 2012 18:57
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Quick question for a newbie putting together the pieces of my first homebrew setup in my basement. I'm not really into bottling beer and I already have a fridge in my basement, I was planning on storing beers in the many growlers I already have laying around my house and pouring pints from a tapped keg. Is a starter kit like this: Master Brewers Kit with Kegging Setup going to be more of a value in the long run than some of the more basic kits that come with bottles and boiling pots, etc? I'm kind of hoping to do a quick transition to all-grain after getting extract kits down. I'm on a $500 budget and want to make sure I'm getting everything I need to start off without having a bunch of unused staff later. I figure I'll need to buy a big pot and possibly add a wort chiller after I learn my lesson with ice cooling, but any better deals out there?
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Sep 14, 2012 19:03
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Ditch ice cooling, the lesson is easy to learn: it's too slow - way, way too slow. Right then, lesson learnt. Okay, moving on, you can build your wort chiller for about $35 in hardware store parts (a copper coil, some vinyl tubing, a hose or faucet fitting, and some hose clamps) if you want, or buy one. The ones you can buy will be nicer than the first one you build, but not a lot more functional unless you do a terrible job building one.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:08
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hellfaucet posted:Quick question for a newbie putting together the pieces of my first homebrew setup in my basement. I'm not really into bottling beer and I already have a fridge in my basement, I was planning on storing beers in the many growlers I already have laying around my house and pouring pints from a tapped keg. Is a starter kit like this: Master Brewers Kit with Kegging Setup going to be more of a value in the long run than some of the more basic kits that come with bottles and boiling pots, etc? I'm kind of hoping to do a quick transition to all-grain after getting extract kits down. Ingredients not withstanding, Remember that you will need a place to keep/tap your kegs. You will also likely need more kegs if you plan on being as prolific as this kit would allow, so you might want to consider budgeting for that. e: This kit also doesn't appear to have a kettle.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:10
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Paladine_PSoT posted:Ingredients not withstanding, Is that 4 pin lock soda kegs for $20/each deal still alive? I've found that a great way to be patient with beers that require more than a month between brew and tap day is to simply brew more beer than you can drink so that you can't get to them anyway. So yeah, if you're going the keg route you should budget for owning at least a few spares. I have a 4 tap keggerator with another 6 kegs to keep in a cool place... plus a few carboys and buckets. This hobby is worse on my wallet than 40k.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:16
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Tastes less like paintbrush, though.  What is the upshot of the stainless wort chiller they're advertising? Metal neutrality? It's certainly not as good of a heat exchanger. Hellfaucet, that kit doesn't have the mash tun you'll need when you go all-grain. Budget between $50 and $150 for that depending on your DIY inclinations. You're also going to want a better heat source than your stove down the road unless it's a powerhouse. Test how many gallons of water one burner can push from cold to a rolling boil.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:23
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How do you use the wort chiller with respect to sanitizing? Just wipe it down and drop it in?
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Sep 14, 2012 19:31
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I keep a 5-gallon bucket of Star-San solution and dunk things as needed, including the chiller. Being a pH of 3-ish(?), it shines the copper up real nice too. 
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Sep 14, 2012 19:33
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Splizwarf posted:Hellfaucet, that kit doesn't have the mash tun you'll need when you go all-grain. Budget between $50 and $150 for that depending on your DIY inclinations. You're also going to want a better heat source than your stove down the road unless it's a powerhouse. Test how many gallons of water one burner can push from cold to a rolling boil. Thinking I could probably ask for the mash tun and secondary burner for the holidays if this is the case.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:40
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A gas stove has way better odds of being fine than an electric one. See if you can get 8 gallons to a rolling boil in one vessel. If so, golden. You still will probably want a banjo burner down the road so you don't need to pump a billion BTUs into the enclosed space of your kitchen in the summer/ever. You don't need a mash tun until you go to all-grain. Even then, you can get away with Brew In A Bag instead of a tun if you don't want to go traditional. I did a couple BIAB batches but decided I didn't have enough control with it compared to the straightforwardness of a mash tun. e: \/\/\/ Yeah, that's Splizwarf's Wort Chiller Mk.II right there, along with double the coil length. Compression fittings take a little more know-how though. I'm planning on quick-release fittings too, I hate screwing hose fittings together. Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Sep 14, 2012 |
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Sep 14, 2012 19:46
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Splizwarf posted:Ditch ice cooling, the lesson is easy to learn: it's too slow - way, way too slow. Right then, lesson learnt. Speak for yourself, my first home made one is prettier then the buyable ones  Get compression fittings to hook.up to normal hose fittings. Screwing on a hose instead of dumb hose clamps and stuff is like the auto siphon of chiller building. Use a tubing bender (an otherwise useless piece of kit) or a form. Fermentation buckets might be a good bet, I forget what I used for my form.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:46
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Splizwarf posted:A gas stove has way better odds of being fine than an electric one. See if you can get 8 gallons to a rolling boil in one vessel. If so, golden. I can't with my fairly nice range. I think my uncle could, but he has a very nice range. Propane burners are one of those things that make brewing so much easier it's just silly.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:50
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The only negative feedback I've gotten from my fiance about setting all of this up in the basement has been out of concern for our animals. Anyone have issues with cats or dogs loving with your equipment?
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Sep 14, 2012 19:52
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hellfaucet posted:The only negative feedback I've gotten from my fiance about setting all of this up in the basement has been out of concern for our animals. Anyone have issues with cats or dogs loving with your equipment? Shouldn't be, but if it's a problem, build a small cage to put em in. This protects to some extent against kids jerk teenage friends, too.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:56
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Splizwarf posted:I keep a 5-gallon bucket of Star-San solution and dunk things as needed, including the chiller. Being a pH of 3-ish(?), it shines the copper up real nice too. You can also just put the chiller into your boiling wort with 15 minutes left in the boil. Be sure to hook up the hoses first since the heat will cause expansion making for difficult to screw them on after the boil.
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Sep 14, 2012 19:57
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If you are going to run your propane burner in the basement, be careful about ventilation. More is not just better, but necessary. Some breeds of dogs are believed to have negative reactions to hops. Keep hops, especially spent hops (saturated with sugary wort) where dogs won't get into them. Cats might see an open pan of dry grain as equivalent to a sandbox, maybe? Don't leave grain out where cats can get into it. I'd keep fermenters out of reach of curious animals, as blorping noises from active airlocks might attract curious noses/paws. I worry a little bit (but not very much) about my dog wandering too close to a running burner, but overall he's been disinterested in the whole proceeding. My current setup keeps the fermenters and everything out of the range of cats (back when we had cats), but I know that they will investigate anything they can.
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Sep 14, 2012 20:04
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Splizwarf posted:What is the upshot of the stainless wort chiller they're advertising? Metal neutrality? It's certainly not as good of a heat exchanger. Stainless steel wort chillers are typically cheaper, with what copper prices are like these days. The heat exchange capacity is less, but in actual practice it seems to be a pretty small factor, well behind water temperature and total surface area. I use a copper one, but if I was shopping and saw a significant price difference I'd happily buy steel.
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Sep 14, 2012 20:24
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Killer robot posted:Stainless steel wort chillers are typically cheaper, with what copper prices are like these days. The heat exchange capacity is less, but in actual practice it seems to be a pretty small factor, well behind water temperature and total surface area. I use a copper one, but if I was shopping and saw a significant price difference I'd happily buy steel. I have a stainless wort chiller and got it because it was cheaper than copper at the time. From what I've read the any difference in the time it takes to cool wort at homebrew volumes is essentially nil compared to copper. Also, it won't tarnish.
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Sep 14, 2012 22:29
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Today I bought a Brewer's Best "deluxe" kit and it looks like tomorrow I'm brewing my first batch of beer, an IPA. I've been thinking about getting into home brewing for a couple years and I'm excited to get started. I assume that my first batch is going to be terrible but I guess that's part of the process. I hope this becomes a new hobby for me, in which case I'll be posting here more regularly, but I might be terrible at it and hate doing it in which case I'll probably slink away and let all these tubes and buckets collect dust. My first real question is this: I read that a coiled wort chiller reduces cooling time from 5-6 hours to about 20 minutes. Is that 5-6 hour figure just sitting at room temperature and cooling or is that how long it will take to cool with the "ice water in the sink" method?
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Sep 15, 2012 00:55
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safety dan posted:Today I bought a Brewer's Best "deluxe" kit and it looks like tomorrow I'm brewing my first batch of beer, an IPA. I've been thinking about getting into home brewing for a couple years and I'm excited to get started. I assume that my first batch is going to be terrible but I guess that's part of the process. I hope this becomes a new hobby for me, in which case I'll be posting here more regularly, but I might be terrible at it and hate doing it in which case I'll probably slink away and let all these tubes and buckets collect dust. Get the wort chiller if you can. It's worth it.
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Sep 15, 2012 01:03
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I do plan on picking one up, but maybe not for my first brew.
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Sep 15, 2012 01:09
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safety dan posted:I assume that my first batch is going to be terrible but I guess that's part of the process. This is not necessarily a valid assumption. My first batch was certainly palatable (although my beer is better these days), and yours can be too. Read howtobrew.com and ask questions here, and you can start well right out of the blocks.
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Sep 15, 2012 01:27
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I just cleaned up my first brew's fermentation explosion that happened in my guest bath earlier this week. I still have to clean the shower curtain and the ceiling. Next time I'm using a blowoff tube. Ha! I have a plastic bucket secondary I could put this in after it slows to a stop, but I think I'm going to just do an extra week in primary and then bottle. Something I learned from my first batch and from howtobrew: I should have started with the plastic bucket for a primary and then transferred to my other (better bottle) plastic carboy for secondary (and not the other way around). Oh well, I'm learning. Can't wait to try my first ever batch. LaserWash fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Sep 15, 2012 02:09
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LaserWash posted:I just cleaned up my first brew's fermentation explosion that happened in my guest bath earlier this week. Haven't embarked on my first batch yet, care to elaborate how this happened?
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Sep 15, 2012 02:15
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hellfaucet posted:Haven't embarked on my first batch yet, care to elaborate how this happened? It probably had to do with the fact that I used some yeast fuel from Austin Homebrew at the end of my boil. Look a few pages back where this was discussed. It blew overnight, so I wasn't aware of it happening until the next morning, but it was some epic thick krausen and it was freaking ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL over. I should have taken pictures. It would have made for a funny story if my "career" in brewing ever takes off. Btw, the plastic bucket explosion videos from YouTube made me laugh. It's aliiiiiiiivvvveeeee!!!! LaserWash fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Sep 15, 2012 02:19
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Northern Brewer delivers: (beer mine) Buncha boxes.  Hmm, what's in there?  Oh hello, it's yeast, hops, orange peels, and hardware.  The Megapot is a lot bigger than I expected, this is the lid and the coin on the left is a quarter.  Really clean holes.   I have read about handles breaking off of cheap brewpots, but the handles on this thing are serious beef: 8 welds and 4 fat rivets apiece.   Yep, gigantic. I say that coming from a catering background, too. I'm used to 10 gallon pots but they're usually taller and skinnier. This is much more imposing.  So is the banjo burner.  That's $0.25 again on the face of the burner.  Fuel/air mix control plate. Woo jet noise!    Christmas is saved! 
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Sep 15, 2012 03:09
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I was where you were about two weeks ago. My wife called me a "nerd."
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Sep 15, 2012 03:12
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My wife called me "Did you remember the Cascade I wanted to try in one of the cream ale batches?" 
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Sep 15, 2012 03:16
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Okay, i thought of something that I need to do: I saved a bunch of bottles from commercial brewers that I made the mistake of cleaning with dish soap with fragrances. I need to do a proper cleaning on those bottles and get the fragrance crap out of the bottles so it doesn't show in my bottled beer. What should I do to get rid of the fragrance in those bottles? Can I clean them now and just do the sanitizing in 2-3 weeks when I bottle? LaserWash fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Sep 15, 2012 |
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Sep 15, 2012 03:23
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Splizwarf posted:Ditch ice cooling, the lesson is easy to learn: it's too slow - way, way too slow. Right then, lesson learnt. I'm going to have my first shot at an all grain brew in the next week or so and was planning on freezing some big soda bottles filled with water so I could sterilize the outside and then drop them the wort to cool it. Do you recon this will be too slow as well? I'm in New Zealand and I cant find anywhere that sells premade stainless steel chillers and copper ones are just way too expensive for me at the moment.
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Sep 15, 2012 03:54
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Holy poo poo I CANNOT WAIT for Sunday. 
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Sep 15, 2012 04:06
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